Unjust by Design: A Rawlsian critique of digital learning systems

John Rawls’s theory of justice offers a powerful framework for reimagining digital learning environments as matters of moral architecture rather than neutral technical systems. Using the “veil of ignorance” as a thought experiment, the analysis considers how online courses and learning management systems might be designed if their creators could not know their role within the system, whether student or instructor, privileged or disadvantaged. Viewed through this lens, many inherited practices in online education such as rigid time structures, surveillance-driven analytics, standardized templates, and unidirectional content delivery are revealed as inequities that constrain both student and faculty agency while privileging efficiency over equity. Principles drawn from universal design for learning and liberatory pedagogy are presented as more just alternatives, emphasizing flexibility, transparency, and recognition of learner variability. Reframing instructional design as a moral undertaking challenges institutions to move beyond technical fixes and confront the ethical assumptions embedded in digital platforms. A just learning environment, the argument concludes, is not measured by scale or efficiency but by its ability to preserve dignity, extend agency, and include those most at risk of exclusion.